The Seal Of Konoha
by abomination34
Summary: After Naruto's enigmatic suicide, Konoho is caught in a chain of events that would lead to war and its destruction. And how far will Sasuke go to bring back the one he loves the most. Yaoi pairing
1. Prologue: Rain of Tears

Author's Note: Yipee! This is the first chapter to the first fanfiction I have ever written! I feel so euphoric! I didn't even take my medication! So I guess I have to say something Authornotey now...uh….hmmm…..oh yeah! This baby's got Yaoi, but only mild stuff, no lemons…unless you want it then I guess I could accommodate. Hehehe.. I'm a SasuNaru whore so don't be shocked if things turn out that way. It wont be intended…much. Well…nothing else to say other than, if you like please review! And if you don't like…then…uh…..do whatever you want! Don't be too harsh, I'm pretty dainty. So if you feel the burning need to destroy me with flames, then please do it with the intention of helping me…Now that that's done, it's on with the…Disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, though I wish, I don't own Sasuke, though I wish, I don't own Sakura, though I wish she was dead…(I apologize to all Sakura lovers)Ok. Now on with the angst!

**Prologue: Rain of Tears**

A haze swept through the village of Konoha like slow seeping poison, invisible to the eye but no doubt felt by in all who lived there. A miasma laden with as much dread and sorrow that was endurable by the human body. For a second in time, the citizens of Konoha gasped simultaneously as sudden unexplainable fear squeezed them by the neck. It was as astounding as being slapped in the back with a porcupine, stung are the villagers, but try as they might, they could not shake off the thorns clinging to their flesh. To an outsider it might have seemed amusing. Though no doubt a tad bewildering, to be able to witness an entire village seemingly struck by invisible lightning.

One stormy afternoon at the heart of the Fire Country, time literally stood still. People walking down the street could no longer hold to there umbrellas as chills shook them in a manner the cold of the rain could not compare. Children instantly ceased their play near the warmth of the fireplace, tears welling from their eyes, ninja board games completely forgotten. Parents could only watch with glazed eyes, looks of horror clearly etched on their features. Even the patrons at Ichiraku Ramen halted from their task, chopsticks falling limply to clatter at their side, soup and noodles sloshed back into bowls, as their mouths held agape. One actually vomited, retching to the floor, not one paid him even the most minimal of attention.

Classes in the ninja academy took a wordless break, as young shinobi suddenly paled as fear gripped their young throats. They looked to one another, their eyes wide and questioning. Silently understanding that their friends felt the same eerie dread and the inexplicable sense of foreboding currently pulling on their heartstrings, cutting at the nerves, causing them to drop to their stomach while continuing to beat faster and faster. What are children to do when it seemed that the world would collapse from above their heads, but it was all they could hope for to bring closure to this nightmare. Jounin and Chuunin alike released their kunai and their pointers with shaky fingers as their students stared pleadingly at them to explain what the hell was wrong with them, dependant on their infallible wosdom. But even an accomplished ninja could manage nothing more than whisper, voices hoarse and eyes gazing into nothing.

But only the most expert shinobi could sniff the contents of the ominous air, concluded without uncertainty; the atmosphere was buried in chakra. Not just any chakra, but chakra drenched with malice. Their village was for a moment shadowed in unseen malevolence. As every soul looked to the black sky, awaiting the devil's return to claim the world as his once more, but only to be greeted by the steady onslaught of rain as the heavens themselves cried their own tears. It was a beautiful picture, the flooding streets, the violent thumping of heavy rain on tin and concrete, seamlessly complimenting the sorrow of the populace. Even the proud faces of the Hokage Mountain seemed dejected as waterfalls cascaded down the curves of their stony cheeks. It was an image worthy of an easel, seemingly tranquil in its chaos, but who would know?

Because for that moment, no one had uttered a sound.

As if a spell had been lifted, came the jarring screams of those finally able to grasp their distress.

A distance away laid the Hokage Tower, where the great Godaime resided, perched on her throne, seemingly bored out of her wits as work piled before her eyes and as the rain further kept her from play. But as thoughts of how to distract Shizune entertained her jaded mind, like a plug having been pulled in the pools of her consciousness, trepidation surged through every square inch of her being, causing the deceptively young ruler to jump from her seat, papers flying from her desk in response to her action.

She had experienced many things in her half-century of mastering s-class jutsus, wrestling with perverted shinobi, and fleeing from rabid debt collectors. But never in her long, action-packed lifetime did she ever feel her heart beat so erratically, going from calm to thundering without but a second in between. She clutched at her chest, unable to breath, unable to think as a cacophony of images whirled inside her head, grasping just one was a futile effort, as the sannin could not organize her thoughts even to formulate just a single reason as to why this was happening.

_What is this chakra? _Tsunade asked herself, finally able to think as her heartbeat abated slightly. There was definitely chakra, she could feel it, any experienced shinobi could feel it. Peering out her window overlooking the village as it lay buffeted by rain, drowning out whatever screams of agony and anguish from the people she had vowed to protect. For the Godaime, perceptive as she was, had the sense that something was horribly wrong with her village.

And then it came.

For a second time in under a minute she had felt herself lost for words. She forcibly banged her palms into the glass, pushing her face as close to the cold surface as she could without breaking her nose, to glare into the distance. She found herself short for breath once again, startled by the abominable amount of chakra erupting like a volcano in just a few feet of space somewhere in her village.

She did not notice the Jounin running at an incredible pace towards the tower, running up the stairs with hurried panic until he reached the doors of the Hokage's office, flinging them open with wasted vigor.

"Hokage-sama! Somethi—" The statement never got to be finished. Still panting but more from fear than exhaustion, he quickly scanned the room and came to the obvious conclusion that the Hokage was gone.

Tsunade ran down the muddy streets at lightning pace, rain battering her body and soaking her robes, but did nothing to hinder her steps. She ran with the fear that she had missed something important and that she was already far too late. Ninja raced a ways behind her, with similar thoughts running through their frazzled minds. But the only difference was that she had tears in her eyes.

Uchiha Sasuke peered sadly through his window in the solitude of his room. Hugging his knees to his chest, as he quietly bore the eternal desolation of his estate. He didn't know why he still resided in his lifelong home, with only recollections of anguish and sorrow with the voices of old ghosts caught in an endless spiral with him precariously perched in the center as he masked his regrets with potent indifference. He was anchored to the place like a body to quicksand, soon it would swallow him, soon it would destroy him, but alas it was a future he looked forward to. Having let go of his revenge and having given up wasting any more minutes of his bound to be short life trying to destroy his insufferable older brother, he hadn't any more dreams to keep him awake and no more reason than to sleep and wait. Wait for oblivion.

Faint stains of blood still marred the hardwood floor just a stair down, a more permanent logo than the ones on his shirt. It was a more fitting symbol for the legacy of the Uchiha, all in blood. Even the family crest was soaked in blood. The innocence of a woman's fan scarred midway by life's essence, defining their past and foretelling their future.

Sasuke released a tired sigh, hugged his legs tighter, and peered more closely into the depressing scene before him. There wasn't a single indication at all that anyone else still lived, not even a malnourished dog mewling for shelter outside a neighbor's doorstep. He would find himself scanning for porch lights coming to life or the movement of doors in hopes than somehow his family would return, that they hadn't been gone for seven years of his life because they were dead. That they were on vacation in the Water Country, riding the waves and soaking up the sun while simply forgetting to fetch him from school all that time ago. But obviously, he wasn't a moron in denial. There was only so much hope he could muster until he is once again brought back to the day with all the carnage and only him as its witness. They were dead.

They would never come back.

Having tired of staring straight into misery for too long, he brought his head down on his knees, closing his eyes, willing the disheartening thoughts to kindly depart from his head. He continued to brood, but to an entirely different direction; his friends. His mind still reeled from what Sakura had said to him the other day. He was relieved from that the pink haired girl confided that she wouldn't lust for him anymore in the future. Though, he had known for a long time that his usually clingy, annoying teammate was slowly, and unusually taking some distance from him.

_It's about goddamn time! _He would think as the girl started to talk more normally towards him, treating him more like a person than a trophy to be won, and best of all; more like a friend. Though Sakura's impression of him had changed drastically after he left for Orochimaru, and having come back three years later, she was still obviously infatuated with him. Sasuke, having the best eyes in Konoha, (would rather brush his teeth with a kunai than admit that the byakugan might be better for perceiving) would notice her cringe very slightly after flirting with him, as if realizing that she had done something embarrassing and completely against her will.

It only took a few months when everything came to a climax. When for the first time in the history of the universe, Sakura called him 'Sasuke'. Having the leader of his fan club empire refer to him completely by name without suffix was like Naruto putting peanut butter and jelly on bread and not on his ramen (I know, gross. But it's what Sasuke thinks of Naruto…). The konoichi stared at him after that, patiently waiting for a reaction. He didn't give it to her. He pretended to not have noticed, shrugging her off as usual. Sasuke, having the best eyes in Konoha, did not miss the small smile on the girl's lips as she turned and walked away.

Sasuke smiled, or more smirked, at the memory. She never was annoying anymore after that.

He frowned instantly when he recalled her _second _confession.

As the black-haired teen prepared to dwell on it, an invisible force shook him to the point where he fell off his stoop by the windowsill.

_What the fuck! _He mentally groaned as he attempted to get up from the floor. Attempted being the word of reference as his body was wracked to the bone with shivers. _This is pathetic! An Uchiha does not bow down to anything! Especially air… _He resigned himself to squatting on the floor, thinking it would be a more productive endeavor to just calm down and try to figure out why he had felt like he had just saw his entire clan being slaughtered all over again. It was almost as bad as when Itachi pulled him into dream world with his mangekyo sharingan and presented him with hours upon hours of mental torture.

At that moment, all the agony came flooding back, tearing him to pieces. Sasuke wanted to cry out, wanted to scream! He would have done so if his throat hadn't suddenly become so hoarse. A hand clutched at his heart while his other hand sought desperately for support, as he breathed and gasped erratically. His wandering hand found the windowsill, weakly pulling him up to stand.

He didn't know what to expect when he once again peered at the world through his window, but he was relieved when it wasn't the red and black of Itachi's nightmare. Though he didn't need his sharingan to see the metamorphosis the world outside had undertaken. What once had seemed sad and surreal was now dark and ominous the incessant downpour bringing everything into contrast.

He could see it. He could feel it. There was a layer of mist that wasn't there before, made completely of…

"Chakra…" He finally gasped out. He could clearly see the tiny particles all over the atmosphere, like dust, glowing blue and…red? No doubt the Hyugas had already deciphered the principles behind this unusual phenomenon, but some things didn't need any close inspection… _Could this be the cause of these…feelings? Are the villagers feeling it too? Am I the only one…? Why…? _

He was once again stopped short of his reverie when an explosion immediately brought his frightened eyes to the direction of the west. It was not an explosion that could have been heard by the ears, it was one felt in his life force, his very core. His chakra practically screamed within him, running faster than his own blood. A new bout of shivers embraced the disturbed youth in recognition of the alien force somewhere in the village.

He just stared off into the west, mouth open, eyes unable to see the event as his chakra continued to pulsate from its afterglow. Whatever it was was definitely chakra, an explosion of chakra, and it was chakra that scared him like nothing else ever has.

But somehow, the chakra felt strangely familiar, like he had experienced such explosions in the past. But the young genius could not put his finger on it, nor did he have time to dwell on it further as he felt his legs start to move him across the room. He left the door to his room open as he quickly sprinted down the stairs and ran out of the house with nothing but his pajamas. It was uncharacteristic of Uchiha Sasuke to go anywhere without a trusty kunai or a few shuriken. But as he didn't even see it significant to grab a pair of shoes, he'd be damned if he had to allot more precious time into stocking on weaponry.

As he ran past the cobblestone streets of the Uchiha Estate and through the gates into the muddy roads of Konoha proper, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that whatever waited in the distance would be imminent danger. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he was completely heedless of everything else, every precaution thrown out the window as he made it his life's goal to reach that fire before it went out.

Rain consumed his garments as his bangs plastered to his face, mud splattering to his pajama pants. He ran on through the thoroughfare, completely oblivious of his body's discomfort, only absorbed in the need to bear witness to what was left of the event that had taken place on this miserable afternoon.

He could sense ninja's from every direction, converging to that one spot. Hopping from roof to roof or just running like him. Shadows gliding through the mist and rain, graceful and refined even in the presence of potential evil. It was a ninja's destiny to dance on nails for their village, but not for Sasuke. He couldn't give less of a damn what happened to his _precious_ Konoha. He had left the Leaf with the intention of leaving, even though he returned; it was not for the village.

His expression remained decidedly blank as he raced to the finish line. Though his eyes remained black and soulless, his heart beat with rapid anticipation. He leaned his body forward, letting his arms fall limply for the purpose of speed. With aerodynamics as his friend, he could feel his body react as he came closer and closer to his goal. He took a shortcut through an alley, weaving his way in between buildings.

This was the first time he had noticed his location. Sasuke found himself in what appeared to be the slums of Konoha. It was a dingy area, lined with shabby apartment buildings, which appeared even more squalid thanks to the weather. To think Naruto lived alone in one of those.

He immediately pushed his thoughts on the significance of his current location into the gutter as he aligned himself with the task at hand. _Well, no doubt that dobe is there already, since he lives so close by. Guess I can't beat him at everything. _He smirked to himself as he thought of his blonde friend, who never failed to bring a smile to his stone etched lips. They had come a long way since they were gennin.

This was it. He had made it. The aura had died down significantly since it had first caught his attention just minutes prior. He could already make out the faint silhouettes of a group of people and a few others having just arrived. As he drew closer and the figures became more distinct, though still obscured by the rain, he expected the commotion of people, talking amongst themselves, ignorantly spouting theories to each other for the sake of seeming intelligent. What he didn't expect was the eerie silence and the all too rigid atmosphere.

He had stopped running once he could clearly see the crowd. Whatever it was at the center lay hidden, completely surrounded by the apathetic busybodies of Konoha. Though he couldn't blame them for being curious, he did have a desire to gut the whole lot of them for being so unresponsive. It was scaring him dammit!

Deciding it would be better to join them in gawking at whatever it was, he gulped and trudged onwards. He closed his eyes as he pushed through the cold bodies. He didn't get so much as a nudge in return as he forcibly made his way to the to center, with only his inner eye to lead him. When he felt like he was right beside the spot of the enigmatic chakra, now dwindled close to nil. Bracing himself, he opened his eyes…

And he visibly froze.

Before him lay the body of Uzumaki Naruto.

And suddenly…he could hear again.

He didn't know why the sounds never caught his attention. He reasoned that they had been drowned by the hard pitter patter of the tumultuous downpour, but it wasn't true. His heart forced him to be deaf.

Sasuke was always meant to witness, meant to see the blatant horror of his life before any chance of walking away. It was his fate. But today…

He wasn't alone.

The shocked Uchiha could hear it now. It was like seeing a garden that was once black and white, thrust into a world he didn't expect. Time took a vacation as his world sunk to perpetual blackness.

Though he felt like he had fallen to the bottom of an ocean, his ears were in perfect synchrony with the cacophony of muffled words and desperate sobs threatening to break through his skin like acid.

Desiring to see the source of the heart wrenching medley that was playing on an endless loop before him, he lifted his head with great difficulty and slowly looked glanced at his surroundings.

The people he knew so well, every single one of them had come to partake in the orchestra of death. The first he noticed was his old sensei, Iruka, directly opposite him, weeping with his hands over his face, refusing to even look at the boy he had grown to love as a son.

Behind him stood Kakashi, who was absentmindedly rubbing Iruka's back, knowing full well that it gave no comfort. The Jounin hadn't shed a tear, he could tell. But the man didn't seem to be breathing either. The rain battered his hair down to his face, silent pain clearly etched on his one visible eye. He was the image of a man who lost hope in life. Iruka wasn't the only one who thought of the blond as a son.

To the left of them was Hyuuga Neji, with a pallor that rivaled his own. Neji would make it a personal goal to permanently exude stoic indifference at times of peril. He would have succeeded, if it weren't for the endless stream of tears running down his pale cheeks to collect on the dirt floor. He tentatively peered down at his cousin, who felt it unnecessary to uphold such masks. Hyuuga Hinata sobbed loudly on the ground, desperately clutching the left arm of Naruto's jacket like an anchor, lest she float into despair. She rocked her body to and fro, stuttering and gasping and choking with her sanity deteriorating right before his eyes.

There were three bodies clinging to the corpse of his best friend. One, surprisingly, though not really all that surprising, was the Godaime herself, crying with her head buried in Naruto's abdomen. She was too mature and had seen too much pain in her lifetime to be hysterical, but the woman emptied her eyes nonetheless, shaking violently, rubbing her face on Naruto's stomach, desperately seeking the warmth she would never find. Would mother have cried for him like that if she had still been alive?

And so, he turned to the third, which was by far the loudest of the group. Sakura gripped on Naruto's other arm, ruthlessly pulling on it, desperately trying to wake the blond from his eternal slumber. No one stopped her as she continued to wail and sob hysterically, occasionally choking, finding it hard to breathe. In between gasps she would mutter incoherently. Her emotions were ridden on a rollercoaster ranging from anger to the deepest darkest pits of despair.

That was all Sasuke could bear to watch intently before he would break down as well. Ino kneeled behind Sakura, crying in her hands. Nearby was Shikamaru face stunned and staring at Naruto, he found it too troublesome to cry. Chouji slouched next to him, crying freely. On the other side, Lee painfully sobbed on Tenten's shoulder who was half-heartedly patting and embracing him, for she was caught in her own tears. Gai stood behind them, hands on their shoulders, looking almost similar to Kakashi. Next to the Hyuuga's, Shino's expression could not be deciphered behind his collar and shades, while Kiba looked down with a heartbroken stare at Hinata, as Akamaru tried desperately to cheer up his master by licking his hand. Behind Tsunade, Shizune looked forlorn. The rest were the villagers and other ninjas, which he indifferently noticed, were sad and guilty. But he didn't care anymore.

He stared blankly at the only person who had caught his heart. The one reason he had returned and the one reason he continued to live. His heat continued to plummet at started to melt as it landed in his stomach. He could feel his own heart slow to a crawl, lethargy consuming his senses. He felt cold, but felt nothing at all. How many deaths did he have to endure before the world was satisfied?

Uchiha Sasuke did not shed a single tear, for the dead cannot shed tears.

Sasuke was dead.

None had noticed the pained scream that had erupted somewhere in the distance. They paid it no heed, for inside, they were screaming too.

Among the grieving party hid a demon. A traitor situated within the face of a friend. Inwardly, the monster smiled.

_So it begins._

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Author: If you like it please review it! If you want more tell me how much! If you hate it then….tell it to your mama! Nah juz kiddin! Please people I need your reviews! Without them I will forever label myself a failure and refuse to write anymore fiction for fear of rejection! And I'm nat kiddin. Bye folks! See you next week! Hopefully….for I have finals and all….for the story will truly begin! 


	2. Chapter 1: To witness

**Author's Note: **Well, I didn't think I would update so soon but here it is! Since I have finals and my pc needs fixin and I won't be getting much done later so…yeah! Thanks to ya'll who reviewed, very encouraging!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own…Naruto…Masashi Kishimoto…Shonen Jump…blah blah blah.

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**Chapter One: To witness**

To say that the village was in an uproar would be taking things lightly. The rain had departed that morning and the sun was shining, lighting the morning dew like stars in the damp state of Konoha. And since it was sunny virtually nobody was spending the day indoors, but not for that reason.

The once inexplicably silent village was now in a dissonance of shouts and gossip and the relaying of the same tale now grossly liberated of any historical sense due to the word of mouth. The people were still reeling from the events of the night before, and they had just begun to vent. One particular event in regards to a certain Kyuubi holder had spread like wildfire and was treated like an exciting episode to an anime, one to be discussed and reminisced. A lively discussion in Ichiraku Ramen resulted in Ayame forcefully throwing out patrons, screaming curse words in tears, while her father remained rooted to the spot, face drained of color. A short time after, the restaurant was closed so they could grieve for their favorite customer.

The rumors in circulation were but a cruel abstract of the truth. Stories of the poor blond slipping on a puddle resulting to a cracked skull brought tears of laughter to many of the villagers. While others on a more serious note, carried whispers of Naruto losing control of the Kyuubi, annihilating himself in the process, to be answered by sighs of relief that the monster only managed to destroy itself and not their children, contended that the bane of their existence had been exterminated off the face the face of the earth. The only gratitude that the villagers would ever admit giving to Naruto was that he had done it himself, no one else having to soil their pompous fingers.

The unbelievable haze of sorrow of the prior day had been forgotten.

A grim majority responded to Naruto's demise with laughter and relief. But their were those who had felt sympathy for the boy, only now filled with regret, only those who had recognized the boy as not the demon and would be destined to live a life of hardship. But now time was its end, a journey far too short, and all they could do was mourn one day, and forget the next.

Naruto would be forgotten.

Along with the minority were the witnesses. Every single one who had seen the horror unfold from the very beginning had resigned themselves to their rooms, refusing to meet anyone in fear of having to face their memories. They would endure the violent banging on their doors, as mobs of civilians demanded that they be told what happened. Unbeknownst to them, one was no longer in his home, as he had been gracefully abducted by a ninja he could not identity, for his face was covered partly with a mask.

Riots ensued just outside of the Hokage Tower, Jounin having to subdue the crown of angry citizens, ridiculously threatening to blow stuff up if the Godaime didn't show herself. Said Godaime, stuffed her ears with another layer of foam as she rejected yet another request for her council. '_Goddamn nobles! Those fat morons have been pestering me since last night dammit! Can't a woman mourn in peace!' _Having grown weary of the noise, she pushed her hands to her ears in obvious frustration, successfully drowning out the horribly loud voices of the townspeople.

She was only able to endure one more "Hokage-sama!" before she cracked amazingly.

"What the fuck do you want?" She exploded, slamming hands into her desk, breaking the legs, while an impossible number of cotton balls comically tumbled out of her ears, damping the effect of her rage dramatically.

An unaffected Shizune just glared, clearly accustomed to her master's behavior. She could practically feel the boom from the exclamation points after zooming passed her head. She made a display of fixing her wind-beaten hair and continued to trudge over troubled water. She took out an envelope from her pocket, attempting to present it to the agitated Tsunade. "Here Tsudane-sama, it's –"

"Another request." She said dejectedly. Tsunade sat back down, heedless of the planks of wood littering at her feet.

"Yes but…uh…I don't think you need to concern yourself with it right now." Shizune said, throwing the envelope on the pile of paper and desk, giving her sempai a small, apprehensive smile.

"Good. Glad you think so." She implied as she crossed her legs and closed her eyes, slightly irritated that she no longer had a desk to lean on.

"You need to sleep Tsunade-sama, you've been awake for more than a day, especially with what –"

"So do you Shizune, since you helped me with the autopsy." Tsunade cut her off without opening her eyes. She tried to exude calm even at the midst of all the loud and colorful language the mob outside her tower threw around. She had a few colorful words of her own ah her disposal, but she really didn't feel up to it, she didn't really feel up to anything when after hours of unnecessary analysis, that it was more than a hundred percent confirmed that her gaki was truly and utterly deceased. "Go to bed Shizune. I've put you through enough."

Shizune felt flabbergasted. She wasn't at all accustomed to her sempai's present persona. It always stunned her to see her master this way, completely devastated. "No, Tsunade-sama, you need it more than me. I can rest afterward." She forced a smile, hoping to the gods that it was comforting.

Tsunade finally opened her eyes, sorrow and lethargy shown dully on her hazel specs. Tsunade regarded her briefly before annoyance graced her heavenly features. "What are you gonna do if I don't huh?" Tsunade towered over her pupil, raising her voice to match her tired exasperation. "Now if you don't get out of my sight this instant oh God so help me I'll –"

CRASH!

"?"

Tsunade stopped short of her tirade, eye twitching. "What the hell was that?" She asked rather calmly.

"It appears we're being attacked, Tsunade-sama" Her assistant replied, also rather calmly.

Seconds ticked by before what she said finally registered in both their minds. They ran to the open window, peering downward. What they saw caused their sweat to drop.

By now the crowd was momentarily silent, astounded by the giant frog, waving its legs frantically, trying to dislodge itself from the hole in the wall. She could practically hear the scream form a floor below. Tsunade figured it would be quite unnerving to discover that someone was launching oversized amphibians as projectiles into her workspace.

As she thought these thoughts, she did not miss the strangely clad old man precariously perched on the frog's back, or half of it. The idiot looked terrified as he slowly and shakily looked up to face the fuming Godaime.

That was all it took.

"JIRAIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Tsunade's mother uncomfortably shifted in her grave as she continued to bellow obscenities at her old teammate, reducing said teammate to a frightened, and deaf, ball of acrid mush. Before the mob could regain their equilibrium, and hopefully their clothing that were ripped by the sheer power of Tsunade's vocal chords and colorful language, the Godaime had already seized the dazed Sannin into her office, trapping him in a headlock. "Baka! What the fuck do you think you're doing bombarding my tower you buffoon!" Several of Jiraiya's auditory nerves had already snapped due to the first outburst, now he could feel his left eardrum punctured as Tsunade screamed straight into it.

Jiraiya rubbed his ear painfully. "Now, now my Tsunade-chan, if you let me go, I'll gladly reveal all the answers." He replied, making an effort to not anger the buxom blond further.

Tsunade reluctantly let go, wanting nothing more than to pummel the pervert straight into the earth's core. She crossed her arms and started tapping her foot, putting on her poker face. "I'm listening."

Before he started, he picked up a cotton ball from the floor and used it to plug his bleeding ear. Jiraiya let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, you see…me, Oyabin and the boys had and peaceful, innocent get together one night and –"

"You fed your frog liquor?" Tsunade shrieked once more, dislodging the once snug ball of cotton. She did not need to hear the rest. She advanced dangerously.

Jiraiya visibly paled, and started stammering. "B-but its n-not my fault! Blame Oyabin! He's the one who brought the keg! He emptied it to some dried up lake and they just lapped it all up! Unlike them, I have self control!" He crossed his arms and pouted. "I mean, that guy lights his cigars with volcanoes for God's sake!" He added as an afterthought.

Tsunade ignored the pointless remark. She drew herself closer until she was nose to nose with the sweaty old man. "So you thought it would be entertaining to ride a tipsy toad all the way back to Konoha?" She spat out menacingly.

Jiraiya shied away, wishing he was invisible. "Well, uh…if that question wasn't rhetorical…then yes."

Shizune watched amusedly as her sempai pounced on Jiraiya, trying to choke him as the older man flailed about, screaming in a disturbingly high-pitched voice. She was glad that her sensei allowed herself to be cheered up, only Jiraiya and Naruto could had that effect on her.

But as Shizune thought those thoughts, Tsunade stopped altogether, standing up with all the seriousness of a politician. She fixed herself up and quietly said, "Sorry Jiraiya, but this really isn't a good time for this."

Jiraiya just stared at her, as if she had grown a second nose. It bothered him that his old friend looked so solemn, but he just shook it off as if it was nothing, straightening up as well, he had the sense that playtime was over. He crossed his arms in mock dignity, widely grinning at his friend. "So…did you tell him yet?"

Tsunade felt her heart beat faster, though she knew exactly what he meant, and _who _it meant, she asked anyway. "Tell who what?"

Jiraiya peered at her stupidly, scrutinizing her. "Don't give me that! You know? Did you tell Naruto about starting his Hokage training?"

At that instant Shizune quietly walked out the door, not wanting to witness whatever would take place.

The Godaime's mouth instantly became parched. She had dreaded that question. Somehow she could not bring herself to tell Jiraiya the truth. Though it was inevitable that he would know eventually, she'd rather "eventually" not be today. Or from her mouth. She was certain of how he would react, having known him better than anyone. Once the revelation would pour from her lips, he'd be struck dumb, quietly walk out of the village, and never return. He had grown to love the genki brat far too much, having emblazoned the boy with too much of his own character. There would be nothing left for Jiraiya but to submit to his age. She knew for a fact that he only ever came back to Konoha when he would come up with a sufficient jutsu to teach Naruto. It was an interaction he strived for, as it brought him back to better days when he fathered over Arashi.

Unlike Tsunade who was used to losing love, Jiraiya was not. Losing Arashi had not brought him that pain, for he died for the village, and he no longer needed protecting. Naruto on the other hand, died for lack of protection, completely unguarded to the world's hate. He was a legacy Arashi had wished would live on. But now he was gone, decimated by his own sorrow, killed by his own hand. Jiraiya would torment himself for all eternity, for in that respect he was innocent. Innocent to guilt.

Tsunade tried with all her might to keep the tears from coming. She did not want to see her friend break down before her. She didn't want her voice to be the last he would ever choose to hear. She didn't want to be the one to sentence him. She was selfish, she knew that. But it was her unreasonable fear of seeing death, the root of her fear of blood, which would keep her from bearing witness.

She refused to be a witness.

With self-centered conviction, she would allow Jiraiya to suffer from another's expense. She was a coward, but then she would accept it. She batted away the tears that threatened for freedom, and turned to Jiraiya, ready to answer. "No, Jiraiya, I didn't tell him yet."

"Oh. Okay. You didn't have to look so glum about it. Seriously, you look like someone just died. But Honestly though, I think Naruto's still a tad too young, maybe a few more years of learning some more of my killer jutsu and I know he'll be the greatest Konoha's ever had!" He smiled broadly, hands on his hips, breaking her heart. Then his expression darkened. "There's still the matter of those damn villagers. If you don't find a way to change their bias opinions, they'll be the death of him."

Before she could stop her eye from twitching, Jiraiya was already walking away. She couldn't stop herself when she yelled, "W-wait! Where are you going!"

The old hermit turned around, surprised at Tsunade's unusual demand for his company. '_Though it seemed subliminal, I still sensed I't. _The cocky pervert thought as he smiled seductively, eliciting a cringe from his darling konoichi. "Why Tsunade-chan, I'm flattered by the offer, but I'm afraid you won't be getting much in by how tired you look. So you rest up before I come back okay? Sayonara babe!" And with that he proceeded to the open window.

Tsunade, with face shaped and shaded like a tomato. Hollered to the departing pervert, "Jiraiya you hentai! Come back here so I can –" But it was too late as Jiraiya jumped out of the window, a giant toad materializing out of a cloud of smoke, angry mob leaping out of the way as the four ton amphibian fell towards them, jumping once it sped off into the distance.

Unfortunately the distance was an innocent building, as the toad was apparently still drunk and Jiraiya did not have the foresight to conjure something big and sober. Deciding that having his bones fractured from crashing into brick was a worthy punishment for embarrassing her, she sighed sadly. '_Why do I always allow him to distract me? Won't anyone allow the Hokage to mourn in peace?'_

"He's heading for Naruto's you know."

'_Guess not.'_

Without even turning to face the intruder, she said, "I know that. I'll allow him to realize for himself. He'll come back, but I won't be here."

The intruder exhaled loudly, sounding dejected. "I won't chastise you Hokage-sama, but I will judge you. You are a very cruel person."

The Godaime did not flinch. It was a fact she knew too well, but it was a truth she could not change. There was a long pause before she finally spoke. "What are you doing here Kakashi?"

His tone lightened somewhat, "I've come bearing gifts."

At that she turned to face the white-haired Jounin in all his glory. She immediately took note of the fact that he was dangling a pale and somewhat dead looking man by the neck of his shirt. She remained indifferent to such things. "And what might that be?"

The Jounin faked puzzlement, "Oh. This?" He turned at the direction of his hostage who was staring at the floor mortified. "He's a witness."

"A witness?" Tsunade's eyes turned to slits as she glared at the Jounin, looking absolutely intimidating. "I thought I put you on damage control Kakashi."

Kakashi did not falter, nor did he seem the slightest bit affected by Tsunade's mounting rage. "I know, Hokage-sama. But I think that Asuma, Kurenai and the others are more than enough for that particular task. This on the other hand, I cannot ignore the need for answers which I am certain you know very well."

The Godaime just stared angrily, draining the light of the noon sun like a black hole. The air had become undeniably chilly, but the Jounin plowed on.

"I can also attest that my insubordination is righteous and that I won't allow myself to be brought down to that level if the Godaime continues to be incompetent. Allowing your denial and your so called issues to dampen your resolve is highly unbecoming of a Hokage. If you continue to persist then I'm afraid I will continue to do as I please, Hokage-sa-ma."

If it was anyone else, they would have had their vital organs neatly lined up against the wall in alphabetical order before even thinking of finishing that first sentence. But it wasn't just anyone else, it was Hatake Kakashi. They stared each other down for many agonizing seconds

before the Godaime softened, sighed, and smirked. "You've got guts kid. You should be thankful that you're still able to reproduce right now."

"Oh I'm not all that worried; you'd be surprised how easy it is to grow those things back. Well, actually, you should know, you invented that jutsu."

Tsunade looked smug, hands on her hips and bosoms held high. "I'd say I'm flattered but I'm just going to admit that you are right and that you would make a better Hokage than I."

"Well, I'd be flattered as well, but the only real candidate for that name had died under rather hazy circumstances, which can be cleared up if you wish it. What say you Hokage-sama?" Kakashi looked rather smug as well under his mask, if not a bit fatigued.

Tsunade closed her eyes and breathed, looking contemplative. She sat down her desk less throne and made her decision. '_I'm doing this for the brat. I won't let you fade a mystery gaki. I won't let you fade ever.'_ She opened her eyes once more. "So? Should you wake him or should I?

Having finally noticed that his charge was indeed unconscious, he shook him roughly with the one hand that was dangling him over the floor. With dramatic results, he stirred. "W-what? W-where am I?"

"Kakashi, put him down. He's not here willingly isn't he?

"Nope." Kakashi set the dainty looking man down on a chair as he sat down himself. "For some reason, the witnesses have locked themselves in their homes. So, I had to be a little more covert."

"Right…" She stared at the fragile man before her who was nervously turning to every direction but her, he seemed about ready to crack, he appeared to be traumatized, and she doubted that it had anything to do with Kakashi's rash actions. So she decided to take things subtly. "May I know your name…sir?" The Hokage inquired, feigning politeness.

The broken looking man stared with beady blue eyes and shaggy hair, sweating profusely, gaping like a fish as he stuttered at his response. "K-karuhi. Karuhi H-hok-kage-sama…"

Karuhi. She assumed that was his given name. "Good, Karuhi-san." She calmly reassured the poor man. She looked to Kakashi, who seemed bored. "Kakashi, please close the window."

"But isn't that –"

"I know it's against protocol but I really don't give a shit about the elders or their stupid code. This is important." It was a personal law for the Hokage to always keep her window open so to seem approachable to the people. But at that moment, she wasn't approachable, she didn't feel approachable, and whoever would even think that she was approachable would be in a world of pain.

Nonetheless, the Jounin did as he was told. Magically sealing all noise from the angry mob still lingering outside, though their numbers had dwindled substantially, a majority discouraged from nearly getting squashed by a four ton toad. The lights immediately flickered on after the room had been briefly shrouded in darkness.

Tsunade turned with sad eyes to Kakashi. "I think Iruka should hear his."

Kakashi clearly blanched, caught off guard by the statement, and then he looked forlorn. "No. H-he refuses to leave his room. He cried all night without rest."

Tsunade sighed in understanding. She had tears in her eyes the whole time she performed the autopsy.

Then finally she turned to the panic-stricken man before her, who clearly deteriorated in her gaze though it wasn't intended. "Karuhi-san, I really I need you to tell me everything that you witnessed yesterday afternoon. As your Hokage, I demand that you speak."

He seemed to cower in his chair, trembling violently as he was put on the spot. Kakashi observed him with cold, passive eyes. The Godaime, on the other hand, was more sympathetic. The man had clearly been subjected to severe emotional trauma. She had seen people with that form of hysteria in her life, and they would end badly in the long run. She wondered briefly how the other witnesses were faring.

Fortunately, the man tried to extract whatever courage he had left in his fear ridden body. "I-I'm s-sorry, H-hokage-sama. I j-jus-….I-I c-can't!" And with that he curled into a ball, hiding his head in his legs, still shivering.

Kakashi kept still as Tsunade silently crept behind the frightened man. She placed both of her hands to the back of Karuhi's neck. Before the pale man could react with unblemished terror, chakra started flowing from two of her fingers as they were pressed against the pressure points of Karuhi's neck, the man slackened immediately, shivering ceased, relishing in comfort Tsuande's hands brought.

"Now, Karuhi-san," she said calmly while continuing her ministrations on Karuhi's stiff neck, "you're going to tell me everything you saw, just me, no one else has to know."

Kakashi raised a visible eyebrow at that.

"Oh shut up! It's the only way he's talking!"

The Jounin raised his hands defensively, mocking her, but said nothing of it, just pleasantly surprised to see Tsunade-hime so…womanly. He would have blackmailed her, but Kakashi had morals too, and would be inappropriate.

Tsunade moved her head beside Karuhi's, whispering to his ear as she continued to gently stroke him. "Just relax, Karuhi, I'll wait till your ready, but not too long okay?"

Karuhi nodded his head, breathing evenly and eyes closed, savoring the wonderful feeling of elation that the nice lady's touch brought him. His mind felt cloudy and his emotions were dazed, he wanted to kiss those hands, but then he recalled her words, and he didn't want to let his angel down.

"Hokage-sama, if you don't stop what you're doing I think he's going to have an orgasm." Kakashi implied, quite amused.

"Quiet you! I think he's ready." Tsunade's concentration was completely on the little man she was touching so…affectionately.

True to her word, Karuhi started to speak

* * *

As you know it was raining really hard, too hard, I didn't think it was normal. But I had to leave my home and buy some herbs, since my house doesn't have a heater they were all that would keep me from catching fever. I would have bought them sooner if I knew the weather would be so damn capricious. Obviously I'm no ninja, on account that my immune system is nonexistent, it was either I walk in the rain or stay holed up in my room and die of pneumonia, I chose to get my boots.

I grabbed my extra thick umbrella, said goodbye to my humble abode, and went into the mud. I was surprised to see quite a lot of people braving the storm, all headed for the marketplace. Apparently, I wasn't the only one caught off guard by the sudden downpour. Thankfully there wasn't any wind so it was all a matter of trekking under pressure. I hiked for twenty minutes before I made it to the bazaar, and stocked up with as much as I could carry with only one hand, not knowing when I'd be able to see the sun again. On my way back home I strayed off the main path and decided to take a shortcut through an alley.

And then it happened.

I dropped my groceries and the umbrella the moment I felt like there were pins stabbing me in the chest. It felt horrible, I wanted to die. It was almost like that overcast afternoon would be my last, I couldn't stop shaking, for some reason I thought of when my clinically ill mother said she was going to show me something 'neat' and started to hack at her wrist with a butter knife. Having only been five, I did think it was neat.

Until her blood splattered on me and I cried like there was no tomorrow.

That was how I felt that afternoon, I felt like my mother's blood was still on my face, and I started to tear up. I couldn't stop crying, and no matter how much I willed it, my heart just wouldn't stop beating so painfully.

And then I ran, I ran as fast as I could, I just wanted to go to bed, curl up and die, hopefully. I barely notice the subzero rain trying to pierce holes through my skin. I barely noticed the people gaping in the streets, probably going through the same kind of pain I was, but unlike them I just wanted to move.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw someone standing in the middle of the road. I would have bumped into him if I hadn't noticed him beforehand, which I did. He was completely immobile, with his blond head down. He wasn't even shivering he just stood there, dead to the world. I noticed that he was only wearing a tee-shirt and pajama pants, no shoes. I also noticed that mine wasn't the only attention he had managed to grasp. Others stopped where they were, staring as if he was the most fascinating looking boy in the whole world. Apparently, I thought so too. Just then, I had noticed something, which I didn't think much of at the time, but it proved to be the most important thing.

He was holding a kunai.

For reasons I didn't know why, I was transfixed, mesmerized, I couldn't keep my eyes off him, and yet my soul was also in tatters so nothing really surprised me anymore.

I could FEEL everyone flinch when he slowly lifted his head, revealing his face. After that I was only able to hear my own gasp as I immediately recognized whose face that was; it was the demon kid. Truthfully I never held a grudge towards the boy, not having lost anyone to the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and I never once believed it was ever his fault. He's just a boy dammit! A lonely boy who didn't seem to have anyone really. I could definitely empathize with him in that department. And yet, every time I saw him in public, every time I would hear the cruel whispers and see the obvious contempt by the way everyone looked at him that made my blood boil, I did nothing. I did nothing to ease the poor boy's sorrow, I don't think anyone did.

That was all I could think when I saw the pain in his eyes, hand bleeding from gripping the kunai so hard, it was like a river as it got carried by the stream of rain. He had been crying, I could tell. I've never seen eyes so blue, so deep, blue with the most profound misery. He examined his surroundings without really noticing anything, it didn't seem to occur to him that a group of strangers was scrutinizing his every move, whether he was aware or not, he didn't seem to care.

He looks so tired, I said to myself. He reminded me of someone who hadn't a dream left to dash, I couldn't see a single sliver of hope in those beautiful, melancholy eyes. He looked up to the black sky with a look that screamed for redemption, silently pleading to the gods for someone to come and save him. As expected, no one came, he had seen it to. He was willing to die for though.

I nearly lost my breath when his eyes focused on the kunai in his hand, sadly staring at it for what seemed like minutes, until he looked with acceptance. There was certainty etched on the poor boy's features. He had found his escape.

And he did the unthinkable.

The broken blond slashed at his wrist, successfully breaking nerves as blood freely poured from the open gash on his arm.

And immediately I wanted to scream, wanted to run from such horror, such injustice! The boy had committed no crime and there he was, obeying the orders of the townspeople, granting their sinful desire. It was like rape, innocence forced to perversion. He had become an abomination for it was what they had lusted to see. It was their pleasure to hate him.

It was his call to die.

I wanted to run to him then, I wanted to stop him, I wanted to ease his tortured soul! But I couldn't move. None of us could. We had chosen to be immobile when he still had a thread to grasp, it was far too late, now that he'd let go.

And that was the price we paid.

He watched without emotion as the blood from his wrist clogged miraculously, closing the wound with a touch of steam. He had been expecting that however hacked a second time.

And again. And again. And again.

He had forcefully slit his wrist more than a dozen times all with the same result, and still he persisted. I wanted to vomit, I was going crazy. The air smelled like decaying flesh as the whiskered boy continued to ineffectively mutilate himself. The rain, as heavy as it was, was no longer enough to drown out the blood pooling around the boy's feet.

And then, he stopped.

He dropped to his knees, sobbing. My bones chilled completely as he screamed to the world, "Dammit! Why won't you let me die! Then he took the kunai with both hands, and plunged it deep into his heart.

We all squealed with horror, but could do nothing about it. I just torturously looked on, not being able to turn away from the gratuitous scene before me. I broke down completely and cried, nothing would end this night. My mother's blood stained form sealed my vision. I would never leave this nightmare, never.

He continued to screw and wind the sharp object into his chest, becoming hysterical from being unable to win his battle against life. There was a faint glow of red emanating from the hole in his heart, a force that was trying desperately to repel the blade as it was driven persistently again and again into the organ.

He dropped the kunai, the blood stopped flowing from his chest as it healed too. I didn't know what to think when he started laughing, all I knew was that I wanted to take that kunai and kill myself with it. His cackle was sinister, almost evil, and determined. He laughed like he had seen victory, like he had won.

He stood from his spot, I backed away. He took one final breath, and made a series of seals I could not identify. Suddenly a clone appeared in front of him, scars and all. I took my own breath and prepared myself for what was about to happen. The clone bent down, picked up the kunai, inspecting it briefly. Then he muttered a few words which sounded like "you're welcome." Without prior warning, the clone thrust the blade with all his might right into the waiting boy's chest.

Time stood at the edge of a cliff, a cliff I would have gladly jumped. The two kitsunes froze, one still gripping the blade that had penetrated to the other's backside, while the other smiled a relieved smile, the red light could not mend what was impossible. In slow motion, the doppelganger evaporated in a puff of smoke resulting in the boy falling on his back with plop.

As if a spell had released us at last, I was then able to fall on my knees and hold myself. One of us screamed, others must have fainted, all of us survived with rattled spirits. And then there was a crimson glow before me, I was shocked. It was the boy.

A surprising surge of power and light left us momentarily blinded, as the shockwaves knocked us off our feet. The powerful radiance lingered for a few seconds before dissipated completely. Nothing left.

I just lay there on the ground, just starting to feel the rain annoyingly prick at my skin. I felt so tired like I'd never realized. That mist of sorrow seemed to have abated finally as I was then able to grasp my thoughts. Then I turned to the boy lying dead on the ground close to me. I could barely keep my eyes open by the time the Hokage arrived. She took one look at the wound on his chest and started to sob. The rest were just shadows as more and more of them came to surround the blond till I could no longer see. For only a few blissful minutes, I fell asleep

* * *

Tsunade allowed her hands to fall from his neck to her side, too numb to move any part of her body. She didn't bother to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks. Karuhi had recalled everything in ghastly detail, everything she had tried resolutely to not accept. Karuhi was right in his perception. They had all stood still while Naruto kept backing away, she had done nothing.

"Karuhi-san," she started, sounding dead, staring and speaking to nothing. "You have done well; the Hokage is indebted to you. You may leave."

The man on the chair slowly turned his back and looked up at the Godaime, seeming bewildered. "Uh…Hokage-sama…" He said, sounding small and hesitant. "W-what am I doing here?"

Tsunade looked down at him as if it was the first time seeing him, then a realization hit her. He had managed to slowly extricate the trauma-inducing memory as he forcefully relived it in the influence of her chakra. She had never used the simple technique for that purpose before, but apparently that was the result.

"I summoned you here for a favor, remember? But you had already fulfilled that favor, so you can go home now. You need to sleep." She placed her hand on his shoulder, meant to be comforting. Instead of feeling reassured, he felt perplexed and concerned, wondering why the Godaime had said that with tears in her eyes.

Being wise not to question the village's most powerful ninja any further, he shakily stood from his seat, feeling somewhat disoriented as he teetered his way out the room and into his bed, wherever it was.

The Godaime didn't move an inch from where she stood as her blond bangs cast shadows on her hazel eyes, as they continued to secrete warm tears. Despondency leaked from the walls and seeped from the floor loke vapor, not a single word had been uttered for many minutes until, "You felt it, didn't you?"

Kakashi didn't even flinch at the Godaime's sudden question, exhaustion and hopelessness had weaved it's way from his one eyes. Not needing the Hokage to elaborate further, he quietly responded, "Yes Hokage-sama, I did."

"It was the Kyuubi's wasn't it? That malignant chakra…when I felt it…all of it burst, I knew..."

Kakashi ineffectually nodded to the walls. "So did I Hokage-sama. Our fears were realized."

Tsunade fisted her hands tightly, biting her lip to prevent herself from choking. Her back was turned towards Kakashi who stood up and gently patted her shoulder.

"I think I should go now Hokage-sama, I need to…hibernate." He lazily backed away and prepared to make some seals before he said dejectedly, "Tell me when the funeral will be held." And in a puff of white smoke, he was gone.

Tsunade could hold it no longer as she sank to the hardwood floor and sobbed like there was no tomorrow. There was no more tomorrow for Tsunade as reality broke through her denial. She had lost her heir, her son, her gaki, and she had been powerless to stop the boy from taking it upon himself and despairingly giving what the world had selfishly demanded. Is that why people she loved tended to die?

Because her strength only went as far as her chakra control?

She cried for several more hours until the burning in her eyes became too painful. Like a zombie she trudged to her chair and collapsed, defeated, shoulders drooping and lifeless as she flaccidly glared at the ground. Flowers bloomed and suns came and set as she sat there heedless of time in a vegetated state. She didn't care about the knocking on her door, asking for entrance. She didn't care that whoever it was had entered her sad abode uninvited. She didn't care that whoever it was had placed an unwelcome hand on her shoulder, turning her to face whoever it was.

"I'm very sorry Tsunade-sama. I know this is something you don't want to hear right now, but…the Kazekage is on his way." Shizune smiled sheepishly, hoping her sempai heard, let alone understood. Tears stained her master's unnaturally pale cheeks; gaze focused on a whole other world. It was heartbreaking.

"Shizune…" she croaked, looking surprised to see her pupil. Then her eyes squinted slightly. "Kazekage…? What are you…"

"I pitched the message Hokage-sama." She spoke, not needing to hear the rest. "I think…he would have needed to know."

After thinking it over, she nodded in agreement. She shook off Shizune's caring grasp and stood, straightening her tousled robes, and wiped the moisture that was still caked on her heavenly complexion. "I…I think I need a vacation Shizune. Where did you go on your last mission?"

Shizune looked caught off guard at her sempai's sudden ability to speak coherently. "The Grass Country Tsunade-sama, it's a wonderful place to wind down for awhile." She replied with a bit more vigor.

The older woman sighed, releasing a deep breath, "Yes…I'll look into that."

The Godaime had almost left her office when Shizune asked, "Where are you going Tsunade-sama?"

The woman stiffened, and without turning around, she replied, "I need to see my gaki."

* * *

At that same moment, Uchiha Sasuke remained stationary on his bed, staring at the ceiling with eyes filled with fatigue. He had laid there all night and day, having skipped four meals, his stomach wretched painfully. His joints burned with eager ferocity, demanding that they be used. Sasuke hadn't slept a second, blinking only every few hours as he silently basked in obvious torment. Words circled his still functioning mind, random bunch of word that wouldn't have been important to anyone else, only Sasuke's days had be dedicated to hearing them;

'_Better luck next time, teme!'_

'_I just wanted to see that look on your face bastard! That's just priceless!'_

'_You KNOW onigiri taste better dipped in ramen!'_

'_You think I'm a moron! Morons are people who think too hard.'_

'_I used to wanna die you know…'_

'_Every time they look at me…'_

'_Every time I look at look at them…'_

'_When I become Hokage, I'm going to put a bubble around the tower…you know…so no one tries to assassinate me…'_

'_I've been thinking bout Sakura lately…'_

'_You're my best friend…'_

'_Are…are you in love with me?'_

The last one jolted Sasuke from his stupor, his eyes began to water, but he willed them away. He move his head to his side, cringing at the pain in his neck, he looked at his desk, lined with pictures. There were a number of photos of team seven, a few singles, many of him and Naruto. His eyes found one in particular, one where his arm was possessively draped over the blonde's shoulder, said blond had his own arm over his, grinning like mad and making a v-sign. He, himself, was smiling. A smile he recalled having been brought out by the shear affection he had towards his friend. That picture was the most important, for it was at that instant, holding Naruto close, seemingly friendly, that he had accepted within himself that he was deeply in love with his best friend.

It was that realization that had made him smile.

A single tear traced down the bridge of his nose as he stared longingly at the beloved photograph. It had been taken a year after he was brought back from Orochimaru, when Naruto's efforts had finally succeeded. It was at the last minute that everyone had given up on him, everyone except Naruto. He had left the village of his own volition, knowing full well that he would be filed a missing-nin, he defeated Sasuke, nearly demolished the Sound, and went back with broken bones and punctured organs that even the Kyuubi had trouble mending. And yet he had made it to the gates of Konoha with an unconscious Uchiha draped on one fractured shoulder.

Naruto had never abandoned his convictions, never given up on something that was classified as pointless. Sasuke had ended up a loser, not being able to face Itachi let alone defeat him. He had precariously gambled his future and his life and for what? To watch that snake bastard laugh at him in victory? Sasuke hopelessly waited for his death, until his only true friend had saved him. Naruto's drive went as far as selflessly insuring that Sasuke would still have his future. He was informed that the instant when Naruto had reached the gates, he had collapsed with a contended smile. Apparently most of the bones in his legs had been fractured and not healed properly, which made it impossible that he had carried a fully grown teen back to a faraway country without rest and with broken legs.

Sasuke had cried in his hospital bed when he had been told that, for that very moment Naruto had been undergoing intensive surgery. The fox had done everything for him, obsessively offered years of his life to him. No one had ever done that for Sasuke. So much love and gratitude had swelled within him at that one instant that it made him feel euphoric. He had found a new purpose, and it was to live according to Naruto. Naruto had given his life, and so Naruto had become his. Naruto had become his life, his existence, his reason…

'_I can't live without you Naruto.'_

His best friend would have never given up, would have never resorted to lie in bed and mope his days away. Sasuke would do what Naruto would do.

Bring him back.

As he willed his body to motion off the bed, his muscles screamed with pleasure and hi stomach growled in hate. He winced at how painful it was to move after being stationary for so long. He stretched to his bodies relief and his stomach's expense as it continued to make sounds that he so easily ignored. Popping noised filled the wrong as he extended his limbs and bent in impossible angles. When he was satisfied, he scrutinized his room, searching for an idea.

It wasn't long before his gaze stumbled upon an object so conveniently perched upon his desk. It was a trinket from days he wished he could forget, from a past he regretted very much. An epiphany hit him hard where it hurt and the only solution was spelled out on that object. He made his big decision without a second thought as he undressed from his muddy clothes and put on a fresh pair, probably the only pair he'd be wearing for a while. He took as many weapons as he could and without another glance he left his mansion, and leave Konoha.

Only the object was left engraved in his thoughts as he raced to the exit. And the object?

A snake.

Unbeknownst to anyone a shadow crept into Sasuke's home the moment he had left.**  
**

* * *

**Author Note: **God that was soo…loooong! But it was stuck in my head so I had to do it or else I have nightmares. Please please please review! I can't stress enough how much I want you to review! Next chapter, the demon is unmasked and we finally get to see how the other nins are faring. It won't be Tsunade-centric for long. 


	3. Chapter 2: Revelations

**Author Note: **Well um, this is the result of being bored on a holiday, which explains the once again quick update, so please do enjoy.

**Author Note Update: **Ok I didn't put this seven hours ago but I was just so tired. Well now I'm awake! And uh, considering the gripe that some of you had about the "articulate random villager" in the last chapter, I really do apologize. I got carried away. It ended up being told to a written perspective, but you know, I really did not want to portray that particular scene through the perspective of some illiterate buffoon so I just went crazy with it! And he may not be just some random villager! He could write the dialogue for "Itcha Itcha Paradise" for all we know! (that is of course if the dialogue for "Itcha Itcha Paradise" goes beyond grunts, and moans, and "faster, faster!" Not very articulate I must say.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Revelations**

* * *

Haruno Sakura awoke from a most fitful slumber at around what was probably noon. She moaned as she haphazardly rolled out of her bed. She was aching and sore in a number of places she was embarrassed to think about. The encumbered konoichi wobbled and fell to the floor when her head got hammered with the most despicable migraine. Sakura groaned out her displeasure, fighting the dizziness as her room continued to spin before her eyes. She closed them and made to concentrate; and pushed a finger to a spot on her neck and focused a thin stream of chakra to a single tiny nerve leading to her brain. Only the most renown of medical-nins were able to control there energies so precisely without damaging neurons and ending with a seizure. As a result, her nausea dissolved instantly and she finally regained her balance.

Sakura meekly straightened her horribly wrinkled nightgown, she refused to submit enough to change her attire during the night so was left to doze off in soggy pajamas, she was lucky she didn't catch fever. But whatever maladies of the mind were easily reversible; however, there was no cure for heartache.

It was a more a signature component of the species than a habit that she did what most teenage girls did in the morning, gussy herself up. Her bare feet pointlessly glided to her studio where she could effectively assess the damage done to her immaculate exterior. She would have gasped if she was still under the pretence of behaving like a shallow bitch, but under the circumstances, her ghastly reflection was more than justified.

Sakura's outlandishly pink hair had its tentacles aimed to the sky that would have made Jiraiya blush. Her mangled mane stood like a beacon within the bowel of a light eating vortex, making her question as to why her hair was pink in the first place when she was conceived in a family of brunettes! There was also the fact that it "wonderfully" accentuated her runway worthy forehead. She wandered from vigilantly analyzing her oddly shaped cranium to scrutinizing whatever lay below it. Her eyes were shaded to a dazzling ocean green which would've been true on any other day if they didn't look so dull and oblivious. Deep lines marred the skin below her eyes and her pallor was the glee of a mortician. She looked like the living dead and should drop to the ground out of consideration to her motion deprived brethren as they wretched in their graves in envy.

Sakura's lips were trapped in a persistent frown, as her eyes bore her tired soul. She used to cry so much in the past for seemingly nothing, and now that her heart really, really, REALLY wanted to, she could not will any more tears to seep like poison from accursed fangs. Her eyes were but a parched reservoir where her spirit meandered aimlessly searching for a light of blonde hair that was her paradise. Alas she had only struck upon an oasis as her soul drank greedily, relishing in the comfort that the new and blessed wave of tears brought to her as they flooded her vision and streamed down her pale cheeks.

Sakura could not bear the image standing before her, burying her face in her hands as renewed sobs smashed free from her broken heart. Tormenting herself with the reality that Naruto had once treaded those cold empty rooms with a darkness that had shown so obviously in the space of his blue eyes, so casually veiled by a silk façade in the form of a grin. Sakura didn't care to look deeply in those eyes to see for what they were, not when it had mattered the most. Sakura should have been used to being too late, too late to help her friends. Too late in realizing that her 'love' for Sasuke was a farce. Too late to realize that she could have been loved by someone else who would have done so without hesitation. To late to recognize that there was a boy whose heart hurt more than hers ever did. Too late to brave, to express, and to save from death. She was again too late.

Always too late.

She ceased her bemoaning when a faint knocking made her stop. "Sakura? Are you awake now? Lunch is almost ready if you feel up to it…" There was concern in her mother's soft voice, and also a hint of frustration.

She quickly swallowed the moisture in her throat so as not to croak when she spoke. "Yes mom, I just need to shower first." Alas, she croaked.

"All right dear. Don't take too long…" She sounded impassive behind the barrier of her door, but it wasn't as if Sakura was oblivious concerning her parents' feelings towards Naruto. It was Ino who had brought her home the other night, both completely drenched while Sakura's parents waited worriedly in the living room. They had stood in shock when the two girls entered the front door, one had her arm draped over the other, carrying her while their daughter appeared lifeless. They were ready to interrogate the pair when Ino sent them a look that said to save it until later. When they had finally arrived in Sakura's room, the devastated girl immediately clung to her friend, silently sobbing on her shoulder for several hours as Ino held and hushed to soothe her broken friend.

When Ino had finished fulfilling her role as selfless best friend, she left the room emotionally exhausted. She was surprised to find Sakura's parents staring at her expectantly, her only explanation was, "You'll find out in the morning." She grudgingly left for her own home, sifting through things to tell her own parents.

As for Sakura, she had in time allowed herself to submit to her desperation for rest and slept till the noon.

She had left her bathroom feeling fresh, tender, and ready for the superficial frying pan of life. Though she gracefully went down the stairs lacking the usual jump in her step, and the glow in her eyes. Sakura continued to mourn, to grieve, and dread the days ahead. She would eventually have to buy something black, pick a nice bouquet of flowers, ones that symbolized farewells of course, and invent speeches to express her optimism that her friend had happily departed to a better place. But even though technically she already was, she didn't want to think about.

Sakura made it to the dining room to find her parents waiting patiently; she made a small bow and a quiet apology and sat herself down, making a show of literally digging into her cutlets. While boys tended to fast in their misery, girls did the opposite. Her father looked at her strangely as she continued to make a boar out of herself. Her mother, however, understood, but did not approve. An uneasy silence settled around the family until mother dearest decided t'was time it be broken.

"The demon boy doesn't deserve your pity Sakura." Her mother said out of nowhere before she filled her trap with a spoonful of rice.

Sakura froze midway from divesting her plate of its contents. As if she didn't see it coming. "What?" She asked without manners, not bothering to swallow. Her eyes shone with a new emotion, and it wasn't anything 'happy'.

Mother however did not notice her now fuming daughter, and set her utensils down, readying herself to explain to Sakura in small words the reasons to disengage from remorse. "You need not fret yourself over that…thing…Sakura. Just because you were in a team with him doesn't give you the obligation to mourn for him."

Suddenly, the food in her mouth tasted like crud and swallowed in distaste. Years ago, inner Sakura would have bitten her mother's ear off, but Sakura was a woman now, she would handle things with a bit more…finesse. Before she could calmly retort, daddy beat her to it.

"You're mother's right Sakura, there's no reason for you to feel sympathetic." He stuffed himself with more of the shit and continued. "Besides, the beast got what was coming to him."

Inner Sakura was thrashing in her cage like a rabid primate, but held her still, reigning on her self-control. The rage was starting to pour from her eyes and into her cheeks. She already had her mouth open when apparently her mother had more to say.

"It's really alright Sakura, you don't have to apologize. You weren't aware of what the monster did to the village all that time ago. But you should be grateful, since now you don't have to go to his funeral."

'_Oh no she didn't!' _Inner Sakura exclaimed in anger. But outer Sakura was, for that time, truly and utterly speechless. Color had drained completely from her once crimson face as she acknowledged her parents for the first time.

She…pitied them.

Did they actually harbor such unreasonable emotions? To the point where it was absurd? Did the general population always feel such unwavering contempt for the sweet little boy who had saved their home and sacrificed for countless lives time and time again while these ignorant buffoons did nothing! Her parents weren't even ninjas! How dare they judge Naruto like that! They didn't even KNOW him!

Then Sakura's face fell, draining of even more color, comprehension dawned on her and she made a small, unhappy smirk. _'I didn't know him either. And yet I rejected him. Just like them. It took me so long to finally accept him. Too long. I was no different than them. But they…they truly are happy…happy that he's dead…that's just sick!'_

And so it went on. A one sided debate as her parents continued to cite the prose of Naruto's demise without opposition. They didn't even know or care if she was still in the room, too mesmerized by their own sick words. Sakura couldn't take it anymore, inner Sakura had broken free, but she didn't what it truly wanted, and that was to butcher her family with a skewer. Oh no, she wasn't gonna go for the Itachi approach, no matter how much she hated them at the moment.

She sighed sadly and closed her eyes, '_This needs to end dammit!' _Inner Sakura was so good with words.

The irritated teen concentrated, and tapped her foot lightly on the floor. Her parents were immediately silenced when an incredible earthquake shook the house resulting in fallen cabinets and flying dishes. Thinks continued to topple over to her parent's horror and to Sakura's delight, who just sat there impassive to the ordeal.

When the tremor finally abated, everything was in shambles. When her incredibly flustered parents released a long held breath, the small chandelier from above the table fell off its hinges and met the china with a crash, sending both her parents from their seats, traumatized. When Sakura was satisfied with her vengeance, she left for the door. But not before she turned to her quivering family with a smirk, "That's what you get for insulting the dead." And with that said, she left, pleased with herself. Naruto would be proud.

She left the house to meet utter chaos.

The house next door seemed to be burning as the omnipotent ninjas swarmed to put it out, people wailing at their misfortune. Another house's bottom floor seemed to have collapsed completely, _'They should really build those with stronger stuff, and I should watch my own strength…I guess.'_ Though she didn't feel the slightest bit remorseful. They deserved it, the whole lot of them!

She just walked on, ignoring the civilians who were running around like headless chickens. She noticed Asuma and Kurenai who were surveying a house that seemed to have lost a wall. '_They were probably put on damage control…' _ Asuma noticed her too, and stared at her strangely, then suspiciously.

She just returned a wide grin and waved, and then strutted on her merry way. Though she was a Jounin as well and would be expected to help with the destruction, Tsunade-sempai had given those close to Naruto a day off from duty.

And so she walked, with her head down and her hands clasped behind her back, heading nowhere. She thought of going to Ino's but she probably needed the rest as much as she did. And she knew Ino's parents hated Naruto with a passion, Ino didn't deserve to have her house wrecked as well. She crossed off names in her imaginary list until she was only left with one…

Sasuke…

She turned a ways and headed to the general direction of the Uchiha Estate, opposite the marketplace. She walked on sadly until she could see the rotting gates of the Uchiha Clan, _'I can't believe he still lives their…' _She stopped dead on her tracks when she spotted two familiar figures headed towards her.

"Good afternoon Sakura-chan." The rough yet pleasant voice of Yamato(1) greeted her enthusiastically.

They waited awhile until Sakura was kicked out of her reverie. "Oh…uh…hi Yamato. Sai…" She said the last one with a lot less enthusiasm.

"Hello to you too Sakura-hag." Sai(2) waited apprehensive for her reaction, but to his surprise, and disappointment, got nothing. She was successfully pretending that he didn't exist.

Sakura turned to Yamato, "So…when did you get back from your mission?" She asked not even feigning exuberance. It didn't even seem like she cared whether she would get an answer or not. It got them worried.

Yamato frowned and adjusted his helmet-thing before he answered. "Well…just now actually. But we had arrived in the Fire Country yesterday but we decided to camp out in the forest."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "Yeah, you were smart to evade the storm. But that thing must have covered the entire Fire Country." She said, her voice getting more hushed with every word until she sounded pained for some reason.

"No Sakura-hag. It was because Yamato-san found this remarkable looking Oak that he just had to-"

Yamato cut him off before he could finish, embarrassed that he had almost said it, and curious at what Sakura had said. His attention was then placed on the pink haired girl. "Storm? What do you mean by 'storm' Sakura?"

Sakura looked up from the ground in surprise at Yamato's strange question, her cute face contorted to express it. "What the hell are you talking about? It was raining hard for almost twelve hours! How could you not have seen it if you were already in the Fire Country? Just look!" She pointed impatiently at the ground. "It's still muddy."

Yamato just scratched his chin in thought. Sai was expressionless. "I have been wondering about that since we arrived here. But Sakura, we're not lying, we didn't see a storm at all yesterday. In fact, the weather around Konoha was impeccable. Not a cloud at all."

Sakura just looked down and muttered to herself. "That was before the storm…"

Yamato sighed in exasperation and took hold of Sakura's shoulders. She didn't move. "Look, Sakura. There…was…no…storm…yesterday. And if this 'storm' was as immense as you say it was then why are the trees and the earth 'outside' Konoha absolutely dry hmmm?"

Sakura's body shook before she violently extricated herself from Yamato's hold. She stomped her foot indignantly causing a small tremor, the villager's near Sakura's home ran in terror. "I don't understand what the hell you're talking about Yamato, but I don't care! Last night was not some joke! It all happened! It was real!" She fell to her knees, tears streaming. She hugged herself tightly. "It was all so real…" She whispered in ragged breaths.

Yamato and Sai stared at the hysterical young Jounin, stunned. They did not know what to say, but they knew it wasn't about the storm anymore. Yamato kneeled down and held her shoulder. Sai just observed, not trusting himself to speak. He never was good at being comforting, though that was an understatement. Yamato shook her lightly, looking very confused, but he wasn't totally clueless. "Sakura, look at me." He said it like a brother.

And so she did. Yamato almost gasped. Her were waterlogged, but they held so much pain and misery in their depths. They also looked very tired, almost like she had been crying quite frequently, something definitely happened.

"Sakura. It's clear that something happened last night, more than this 'storm'. Something horrible…right?" He asked in an uncharacteristically mellow tone.

She nodded meekly, not willing to acknowledge the truth with words.

"Does it concern…" He looks to Sai, then back at the girl. "…us?"

She paused, though not really giving it any thought, of course it concerned them! They adored Naruto! That mission to retrieve Sasuke was not one that would be easily forgotten, or one that would be unable to foster bonds. And so, she nodded, getting more miserable with each head movement.

Yamato let out a breath and Sai was getting impatient. He moved to the next specific question. He hated dealing with overly emotional girls, but since whatever it was concerned them, it must be important. He didn't know how breaking up with a boyfriend would involve them… "Who…or what does this involve Sakura?"

She dreaded that question. Dreaded it with her life. She wanted to just nod but obviously that wouldn't answer anything and would make her look stupid. It had to be done, they needed to know. She closed her eyes but her tears kept flowing, she responded in barely a whisper. "Naruto…"

"The dickless wonder?" Sai suddenly exclaimed. Sakura visibly grimaced at Sai's 'creative' choice of nicknames. As if two years really didn't change anything…

Yamato hadn't heard the exclamation for he was busy in thought. '_Hmmm….Naruto. So that's it. Naruto broke up with her. I didn't even know even know they were together! Nothing worse than breaking up on a rainy night, wait, an IMAGINARY rainy night. I still don't know how that involves us though, maybe she had planned us to Godfather their children…' _ He outwardly snickered at that thought.

Yamato didn't notice Sakura looking at him with a puzzled and somewhat disgusted expression. Inner Sakura exploded, _'What the fuck is so funny you asshole!' _Sai continued to look bored.

Even though Yamato already knew what the problem was, he decided to humor the girl until the end. He had heard that girls liked keeping secrets but just LOVED telling them. So he would give Sakura what she wanted; ask her another personal question! "Sakura…" The girl looked at him with a scared expression, did she not want to tell her secret? "…what did Naruto DO?" And it was out.

Sakura could practically hear Pandora's Box opening. Inner Sakura's voice resounded within her unnaturally large forehead, '_Do! What did he DO! What he DID was that he #&ing KILLED himself you #&tard! Why the #& do you think I'm balling my #&ing eyes out in the middle of the #&ing street over Naruto you insensitive #&ing cur!' _Outer Sakura however did not reciprocate inner Sakura's displeasure, who just felt drained and tired of having to dwell upon it once again.

Yamato waited feeling amused. Yes, Yamato did not sympathize when it came to relationships, for he had lost a fair share of his own in the past and it wasn't something to wail about. Sai waited for the sake of waiting, nothing else to occupy his time.

Sakura wait for the world to stop spinning so fast for it was giving her a headache. Sakura had enough of mourning, had enough of remorse, had enough of this goddamn day even if she had only been living it for forty-five minutes! She had enough of Yamato who was looking at her all pleased with her misery! She also had enough of Sai who was just plain weird, acting like he had just hatched from an egg two years ago and was just learning the intricacies of human behavior! And also for calling her ugly and fat for no apparent reason and that he had some kind of obvious fetish for Naruto's penis, or lack thereof as he put it.

She really hated Yamato's smile at that moment, and thankfully, she knew just how to wipe it away. She no longer hesitated in answering his question, willing to conclude this game once and for all. She peered straight into Yamato's eyes with intention of making the man tremble in his boots, with just one word, she unleashed the frightening truth, "Died."

Many seconds ticked by and Yamato just stared, Sai had frozen. Then Yamato narrowed his eyes, asking if that was a joke.

Sakura just exhaled and spoke with a monotonous tone. "He died, Yamato. I would not lie about that."

Yamato's face had fallen instantly when he found no April fool in Sakura's pain filled eyes. His eyes grew wide in horror and stared desperately at Sakura, silently demanding for an explanation. Sakura just shook her head, and made to stand up.

She dusted herself of the mud on her knees and tucked a pink bang behind her ear. Her face was completely blank, devoid of all feeling, perhaps she had simply ran out. "I'm sorry. I…I have to go see Sasuke." She turned to the direction she had been heading before, the Arch of the Uchiha Clan.

Yamato just stared after her, crushing a rock in his fist. Nothing made sense. Nothing made sense at all. The hyperactive, happy go lucky blond was…dead? The boy he would help support to become the Sixth Hokage was gone?

Sai's outer shell didn't not react a bit. Though his physical appearance was mute, his heart was caught in a typhoon of bad emotions. He really didn't know how to go about it. He didn't have the ability to manipulate his own feelings, nor would he know how to act out one them. He eyes had said nothing when his beloved brother perished before him, inspiring him to make art of his sorrows and his joys. He felt like water was boiling him, wait for him to erupt. He did not know how to unleash his pain, so did it in a way that he knew would be completely inappropriate, he laughed.

Yamato stared crestfallen at his friend who was clutching in painful, unhappy laughter. Yamato saw it for what it was, knowing him too well. Sai was like an android programmed for love in a world filled with only hate, he didn't know at all what to do with himself. To others, they would think Sai was insane to laugh so hysterically, and that would be perfectly justified, but Yamato had never seen the man so inconsolable. Not ever.

They barely noticed the Jounin that was running towards them, short of breath.

"Yamato-sama! Sai-sama! Something's happened!"

Yamato just turned and stared wordlessly at the man, while Sai reigned more control over the pain in his gut from all the horrible laughing.

"It's…its Uchiha Sasuke! He's left the village!"

* * *

Shizune stood by the window overlooking the village. She smiled when she could see a Jounin run frantically towards the Tower. She motioned to leave the room, but before she did so, she made a series of seals and an exact replica of the Godaime stood before her.

"Take care of it." Shizune said simply with a grin, and left the room, to confront the real Tsunade.

* * *

Tsunade stared ruefully at the boy lying on the table before her. She was perched on a metal chair in an empty room, empty except for the cabinets lined with potions and ingredients to concoct any type of medicine possible. It was a Sealed Room, literally, for on the floor was a giant seal that was meant to amplify and increase the speed of chakra flow, meant only for medical purposes.

The body of Uzumaki Naruto lay exactly at the center. Now pale as a sheet for all the time the boy's blood had stopped flowing. There was a blanket covering the waist down, but nothing else was obstructed. Clear was the hole on Naruto's chest in which the kunai had completely destroyed his heart. Said kunai lay in an airtight bag for later analysis.

She peered longingly at her gaki's bloodless face, gliding her fingers delicately over the marks on his cheeks. The boy was perfect. He had always been perfect. She was set on making sure that the village would see that too. There was no one on the Earth better to be the next Hokage than the boy that lay dead in front of her.

"I was going to train you." She said with affection as she cupped his lifeless cheeks. "I was going to train you to become the best Hokage there ever was, everything I am not." She laughed without humor, but continued to look at the boy with loving eyes. "Apparently, I am too incompetent to be a functional Hokage. That Kakashi sure has got a big ass head on his shoulders. But…you've really left me with a complication you stupid brat." She said without anger, as she started to choke in her words. "Who am I going to choose now you moron? It sure as hell won't be that Uchiha! I know you'd strangle me from your grave if I made that choice. There's always that Hyuuga…" She put her finger on her chin in mock contemplation. "Or I can choose Sakura, I'm sure you'd like that. But she'll probably have the same problems as me though, and she has so little determination…" She now leaned her face closer to Naruto's. "The truth is, not one of them is like you gaki, not a single one. They don't have what you have…not one…"And once more, she wept, soaking Naruto's neck with her tears, embracing the dead boy. "Don't worry Naruto. I'll give you the best funeral ever. You won't leave forgotten, I'll make sure…"

She continued to weep, deep in the thoughts of what the boy could have become. Naruto was destined to be greater than the Fourth! Greater than all of them! For Naruto stubbornly loved what so stubbornly hated. Leaders who rise after being brutally ostracized were heroes that did not come every century. Naruto had the drive no one else had, willing to bring happiness to what only brought him sorrow. And he made sure of their everlasting joy by taking his own life.

Tsunade continued to mourn the passing of someone who would have been a legend. She was a Sannin because of her strength, Naruto could have been remembered for so much more.

As the Hokage bemoaned for the dead blond, a certain assistant crept behind her, and grasped the back of her neck.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" Izumo banged on the Hokage's door and slammed it open with hurried force.

"What it is it Izumo, can't you see I'm a little tied right now?" The Hokage's eyes did not leave the notes scattered on her new desk, scribbling things quickly.

"Yes! I know Hokage-sama! But Uchiha Sasuke's ran from the village!" The Jounin exclaimed without preamble.

The Godaime looked deceptively shocked as she looked up from her desk. "What?" She demanded dramatically.

"He broke through the gates Hokage-sama! And he used his chidori wave technique and paralyzed three of our men! Kotetsu dispatched a unit and is pursuing him as we speak!"

"Recall them." The Godaime ordered without another thought.

Izumo was sputtering badly. "B-but H-hokage-sama! T-that's-"

"We will handle this case as an isolated incident Izumo." She interrupted with fearsome authority. "We will be needing all our forces for what's coming. We cannot afford to waste any more manpower chasing that brat again. His case will be handled another time."

Izumo dared to ask. "Hokage-sama, what's-"

"You will find out soon enough. Now you will tell all parties involved to strip this incident from your memories, and once that is taken care of, no one will mention this to me or to anyone else, is that understood?"

He was more than stunned by the Hokage's brash and unorthodox response to the problem, but it was not his place to question. "Y-yes Hokage-sama." He bowed and bid adieu.

Once the Jounin had left the vicinity, she smirked and dispersed in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Tsunade almost leaped when a cold hand touched the back of her neck. She turned her head sharply to find Shizune. "Oh." She sighed. "It's only you. When did you become so sneaky Shizune?"

Shizune's hand moved from Tsunade's neck to her scalp, massaging her gently. "I learned from the best." She ended it at that without further explanation. "You look terrible Tsunade, you should rest." Her tone had become a trillion times colder.

"I already told you I'll…wait, what did you ca-"

"Like right now"

Before she could react there was a sharp burning sensation on her scalp and a strange hissing sound…burning! She had lost all the energy in her body when Shizune gripped her head with one hand and threw her to the wall with a resounding crack, thankfully, it wasn't her spine. She struggled to open her eyes and take back her vision. And when she did she attempted to stand up but got nowhere, as her muscles refused to move. She was immobile! Shock and disbelief graced her eyes as she stared at her treacherous assistant. Before she could move her lips to speak, which were one of her only parts that could, Shizune beat her to it, looking smug.

"Now before you ask why you are unable to move and why oh why I did this to you, I'll gladly answer the former, my dear Tsunade-sama!" She squeezed Tsunade's cheek and retracted her hand before she could bite it clean off. "It's simple really." She grinned and placed her hands on her hips. "All I did was place a seal on a certain part of your head and completely shutdown your motor processes, freezing your cells but leaves your chakra unaffected. So you can focus your chakra all you want, all you're doing is killing your stationary cells as chakra passes."

Tsunade growled and stopped what she had been doing. She had indeed attempted to release her chakra and she only felt weaker by doing so without any results. It was a very complicated jutsu, despite how 'simple' she said it was. Not even she had thought of it! Her sempai!

"Now Tsunade, I know by the way you're looking at me that you really want to know how I managed to come up with a jutsu you had never even imagined and used it against you. Well, instead of telling you, I'll show you."

Tsunade blanched, gasping in horror as her pupil began to…peel her face! Then comprehension dawned on her like a speeding bullet train. She could not even sweat for even those processes were shot.

"Oro…chimaru!"

* * *

Sakura finally found herself at the doorstep of Sasuke's manor, to find the door wide open. Sakura reasoned that since nobody leaves doors open going in, then Sasuke must have went out, in a mad hurry. Believing her reasoning to be infallible, she entered anyway. Years ago she would have only went in Sasuke's home as a stalker, now, she entered as a friend. A caring who didn't even want to imagine how he must be taking things. He loved Naruto dearly…

She motioned her body through the chillingly lonely rooms and could practically smell the human effluence seeping from the walls, it was overbearing, how could anyone live here alone? She gasped her hands to her mouth when she spotted the faint blotches blood on the hardwood floor. Just recently Sasuke had confided to her and Naruto his grisly experience during the Uchiha massacre with ghastly detail. If she could find him she would hammer Itachi's face right through his asshole for making Sasuke suffer so much and so pointlessly.

The rooms were absolutely impeccable. Everything was in order like a mother stilled lived there. Sasuke was indeed obsessive compulsive, but she understood that he wanted to keep his departed parents' home as perfect as possible.

She was then sure that he wasn't home, for she couldn't sense his chakra at all. But where else would he go?

Before she climbed up the stairs, she decided to try anyway. "Sasuke? Are you home?" Her voice echoed through the barren estate, no response. She sighed and meant to go up the stairs.

When running footsteps dashed across the floor above her and she heard a door being slammed open.

"What the…"

She cut herself off and raced up the stairs entering the only door that was open. She could only glance briefly as, something, smashed through the window. She didn't have enough time to grab whatever it was as it escaped. She leaned out the hole in the wall and saw nothing stir in the eerie afternoon. She expanded her chakra range and absolutely nothing triggered her superhuman senses. Either whatever it was dead or just didn't have any chakra. She refused to pick either for both were absurd! Even toads had chakra!

"What the hell was that?" She gasped out. She turned her head to the desk in the room.

Though it seemed out of place, on it laid a silver snake.

* * *

Orochimaru was then exposed in all his demented glory, black hair flowing down his robes, monstrous tongue wiggling, licking up his face and into the reptilian slits that were his eyes.

Tsunade did not utter a word, too speechless to formulate any response. The seal was even slowing down her mental processes, she felt like a cow with a hangover. She fought against the shadows looming before her vision, and tried to pin her attention to the evil that stood before her. Whatever battle Orochimaru had waged against her, she had already lost. After all, the snake had managed to put the Hokage in a paralyzed after successfully infiltrating Konoha and had spied on their ranks, the village was doomed.

The beast mooned her with a toothy grin, looking elated. He knew victory was his. "Why Tsunade, you don't look happy to see me. You don't want to give Orochi-kun a hug?"

"Fuck off Orochimaru." She bit back with an effort.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Your still unable to grasp the situation Tsunade. I have the leader of the village of Konoha immobile in a sealed room, whom I could kill if ever I want." He said the last with a lick of his purple tongue.

"So…why don't you…then?" She was indeed curious, if his goal was to assassinate the Hokage, then he would do so. But somehow, she knew that things were not so simple"

"Oh no Tsunade. I would not spare you for what is to happen after I leave this room. After all, the people need a leader to blame, and they can't have that if you're dead. And besides, the emotional strife we will put you through is a fate worse than death." He hissed.

"We…you mean…you're not…" She tried to express, panic and fear building within her. Orochimaru was capable of many things, but how much worse if he wasn't alone.

"Yes, I have allies. Well actually, I'm THEIR ally. They asked for my help. I'm here to assist, but I get a hefty reward…in Uchiha Sasuke." He hissed in joy at the name.

Tsunade tried to scream in outrage, "Uchiha! He'd never-"

"On contraire Tsunade-chan, he is headed towards my lair as we speak. And there is nothing than can be done about that for I had YOU call off the search." Orochimaru couldn't seem more conceited if he tried.

Tsunade was at a loss for words as it felt like the world was falling around her. She was about to submit to the darkness when Orochimaru approached Naruto's dead body, cupping a cheek.

"Hmmm…he's such a beautiful boy. I never thought he would turn out so delectable. And so powerful…even without the Kyubii's chakra this boy would still be strong enough to match me." He turned to his captive. "Right…Tsunade?"

Then a revelation slapped her in the face, as white hot anger seeped from every pore of her lifeless body. She had to stay awake if only to hear the truth from the most hated man in the known world. "Did you…did you…kill Naruto!"

Orochimaru mocked surprised at the accusation, and then made another spine-tingling grin. "No Tsunade, I didn't. But you know maybe no one did…"

Tsunade's eyes bulged at the mysterious remark. What did Orochimaru mean by that? If he was truthful, she knew it could only mean one thing, that someway, somehow, her gaki was still alive. But the Orochimaru continued.

"For you see…" Orochimaru moved away from the body so she could see its entirety. Then he declared to the heavens. "…this is not Uzumaki Naruto!"

A tiny press to the corpse's exposed abdomen was met by another horror, as the white light faded entirely, it revealed…

"SHIZUNE!" Tsunade let out a pained scream that was for once not muffled by the seal on her scalp, as she gazed at the dead body of her assistant on the table. "Why! Why you sonuvabitch! WHY!" She wanted to cry so badly, but she couldn't. She felt so weak, was there no one she could protect!

Orochimaru only took pleasure in her ex-teammate's misery. "Well, simply because we needed a corpse, and I needed to substitute. Killing two birds with one stone as they say."

She was breathing heavily, new waves of sorrow and anger shook her badly. "So…the Grass…it was…"

"Uhmm. Very perceptive of you Tsunade-chan. Although, there was indeed a family with an illness, even if it was I who brought the illness and I who manipulated them into sending a request for a Konoha Jounin with supreme medical capabilities. It was either Shizune or that Sakura girl, either way would have been fine, and as you know," He looked at Shizune amusedly, "You chose her."

Tsunade wanted to scream some more but no longer could as her mouth slackened like a rusty hinge. Her consciously was leaving her quickly.

"Well, I see you will be leaving us in a second so I guess I should wrap things ne?" He repressed the spot on the abdomen of the corpse and it was Naruto that had returned. He swiped at his own face and Shizune came back as well, voice and all. Orochimaru added as an afterthought, "Oh yeah, before I forget, Tsunade-sama, once the seal reaches climax, which will be in ten seconds, you will lose all memory of everything that you had learned after I sealed you. I did this only to torment you, Tsunade, and boy was it fun." She walked to the door and before she exited, turned to Tsunade with a devilish smile. "You better prepare yourself before you awake Tsunade, it wont be pretty."

The Godaime just stared as the devil made to leave the room. She only heard the heavy slam of a metal door before darkness consumed her.

* * *

(1)Yamato first appears in the Grass Country Arc in the manga if you don't know him. His specialty is plant manipulation and he has yet to appear in the anime.

(2)Sai also appears in the Grass Country Arc who comes off as an emotionally challenged freak who keeps bugging Naruto about his lack of a penis (Gay much). He brings his art to life, probably the least realistic ninja ability I have ever seen. And of course, no anime.


End file.
